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Tube Products International May 2013
products & developments
Steel-reinforced spoolable onshore pipe
FlexSteel pipe, from line pipe
manufacturer FlexSteel Pipeline
Technologies, is now available in 8"
diameter up to 1,500 psi. The new
larger-diameter pipe offers up to 125
per cent increased flow rate compared
to FlexSteel 6" pipe.
The 8" diameter FlexSteel
was developed with the
same helically wound
steel core as existing
FlexSteel pipe for failure-
free performance with
the durability of steel
and the installation and
performance benefits of
flexible pipe products.
“The new 8" FlexSteel was
developed in response
to customer requests for
a spoolable pipe solution
with greater flow capacity,”
said Brian Anderson, vice
president of strategy and
marketing for FlexSteel
Pipeline Technologies.
“The 8" product provides all the benefits
of our revolutionary spooled pipe to
deliver superior lifecycle performance
and value.”
Developed with corrosion-resistant
technology, FlexSteel pipe performs
under gruelling cyclic loading
environments, and is claimed to install
up to five times faster than traditional
steel line pipe. The 8" pipe also has 93
per cent fewer connections per mile
compared to steel.
FlexSteel can be installed easily and
quickly in all types of terrain, with
minimal disruption to land. It does not
require special bedding or handling.
FlexSteel’s time-tested swaged fittings
allow fast, reliable connections that are
not sensitive to cleanliness or ambient
temperature.
FlexSteel spooled pipe is used in various
applications including oil and gas, water
and CO
2
transportation.
FlexSteel Pipeline Technologies, Inc
– USA
Testing tubes for the Asian market
Sandvik’s tube mill in Zhenjiang, China,
provides the rapidly growing Asian
market with tubes manufactured in
full accordance with the company’s
advanced production technology and
manufacturing expertise.
The mill produces seamless, cold
finished, stainless steel tubes for
heat exchangers and hydraulic and
instrumentation systems.
Existing testing capacity was insufficient
to accommodate the increased volume
of tube being produced, so the company
decided to invest in a new Zwick high-
temperature testing system.
Tubes from Zhenjiang are primarily
used in applications within the oil and
gas, petrochemical, fertiliser, chemical,
shipbuilding, automotive and power
industries.
The quality of the stainless steel tubes
is ensured with the latest on-site testing
capabilities.
Tensile tests at elevated temperatures
are carried out with the new, state-
of-the-art electromechanical testing
equipment from Zwick Roell Group, a
supplier of material and component
testing systems.
Featuring a non-contact laser
extensometer and a carousel with
three furnaces, the extensometer uses
the physics of the speckle pattern for
elongation measurement on the hot
tube surface. The carousel allows a
three-times higher testing throughput,
because the tubes are pre-heated and
cooled-down outside the test area.
Surface temperatures of all three tubes
are recorded simultaneously during the
heating, testing and cooling cycles. The
efficient testing system is in use 24
hours a day.
“We are extremely pleased to have
installed this new apparatus as part
of our product quality procedures,”
said Anders Sjödén from Sandvik
Materials Technology, China. “It further
increases our capability to meet our
customers’ everyday high product
requirements. With the ability to test
at elevated temperatures we can verify
that our products are fulfilling all the
requirements necessary when it comes
to highly demanding applications.
With this installation Zwick has clearly
demonstrated that their equipment is
fully capable of meeting the prerequisites
on testing our special steels.”
Sandvik Materials Technology
–
Sweden
FlexSteel spoolable pipe
combines the corrosion
resistance and installation
advantages of flexible pipe
with a core of steel
